


it happens like that

by y02mustang



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, F/F, Pre-Relationship, SuperCorp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-23 12:30:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13787814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/y02mustang/pseuds/y02mustang
Summary: The random first meeting Auction AU that no one asked for.





	it happens like that

**Author's Note:**

> This plot bunny followed me through a long, winding path, so I figured I might as well feed it.

_True love, it happens like that_  
_Outta the blue sky, lost in her blue eyes_

\- Granger Smith, _It Happens Like That_

* * *

Lena Luthor accepts the numbered paddle with a nod, slipping into the auction hall. She finds a seat a few rows from the back, resting her purse on her lap, taking a breath and letting the bustle of the environment soothe her. 

Auctions had been a father-daughter event and remained a fond memory. 

Visiting the auction was an outing that Lillian approved of, as it gave Lena practice in being quiet, patient, and collected. Lionel liked it because he got to teach her how to keep a tally of opponents’ bidding, to learn tells in a person’s voice and body language, how to intimidate a competitor by being cool and collected in the face of stress… and no matter how the auction went, they would go for ice cream afterward and she'd provide a review of what she'd learned in between bites of mint chocolate chip. 

After their father died, Lex tried taking her once, but it just wasn't the same. Neither man spoke much, but Lex’s silence was somehow heavier and it diminished the experience. 

Since college graduation, Lena has tried to make it to an auction at least once a month. In the six months since she's taken over L-Corp, this is only the second time she's been able to schedule a morning off to go, and she intends to enjoy it. She hasn't looked at the catalog to see what's going to be offered, but that doesn't matter. 

With only a few minutes to go until the opening, she’s more relaxed than she's been in weeks and she’s ready to begin her people watching, when a woman plops down onto the open seat beside her. 

“Phew, I made it!” she exhales, letting her purse fall to the ground by her feet, paddle clutched tightly in her hand. 

The blonde is young, perhaps Lena’s age, with sparkling blue eyes behind moderately thick lenses. Her hair is pulled back into a high ponytail that brushes against the collar of her pink cardigan. She smooths her free hand down her checkered skirt and flashes a grin at the man to her left. 

“Hi!”

Lena purses her lips. This woman is far too cheerful; what her father would have called ‘bright-eyed and bushy-tailed’. 

The man doesn't even turn his head, focused on the podium at the front of the room, where the auctioneer is beginning to go over the conditions of sale. 

The woman seems completely unbothered and turns her gaze to Lena. “Hello!”

And just like that, Lena's irritation at the distraction into her planned relaxing morning disappears. “Good morning,” she replies. 

Impossibly, her smile widens. “I'm Kara!” She sticks out her hand in greeting and Lena takes it briefly. 

“Lena.”

Kara bounces once in her seat. “This is so exciting! I've got my eye on that antique microscope!”

Lena hides her wince as she hears the shuffle from people nearby that they heard the woman's planned buy. “That should be a beautiful piece.”

“I hope so.” She bites her lip. “My adoptive mother is a scientist, my sister and I pooled our money together to get it for her.”

“That's very nice of you.” She clears her throat softly. Etiquette dictates mostly silence in the hall and she's concerned for a moment that the blonde, Kara, won't be able to manage it. 

Then the auctioneer opens the event and calls for the first item, a heavy wooden hope chest from the 1940s, and Kara is clearly enthralled. Her eyes dart from the auctioneer to the patrons bidding and then back to the podium, a small smile on her face the whole time. 

The quiet lasts about another twenty seconds and then Kara leans over and whispers, “Gosh, that's a beautiful trunk.”

“It is a lovely hope chest,” Lena agrees, keeping her voice low. 

“Oh, right, hope chest.” The bids climb and Kara’s eyes widen. “Gosh.”

“Don't worry about anything but the property you want,” she recommends. “Enjoy the auctioning for everything else, but don't let the price get to you.”

Kara nods. “Right, okay.”

The man that had ignored Kara when she first sat down turns and shushes her fiercely now.

Lena skewers him with the patented Luthor glare she's been wielding since she was six and he swallows his subsequent growl. 

Kara perks up in her seat every time a new item is announced, but she seems to keep her heartbeat under control, even when an oil painting climbs to over twenty thousand dollars. She adjusts the collar of her cardigan once or twice but doesn't look like she's going to pass out.

“Remember to stay calm,” Lena murmurs, as she spies the assistant bringing up the microscope.

Kara nods determinedly. 

“And now, we have this beautiful vintage microscope from 1883, with its original case. Good condition, some wear to the external casing, but the lenses are perfect and it functions well. Let's start the bidding at 350.”

Kara’s hand flies up like a shot as high as she can reach, paddle firmly in her grip. 

Lena barely resists the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. _This girl is going to be eaten alive._

“Three-fifty, thank you ma’am, do I have four hundred? Four hundred?” The auctioneer continues to call the bids, looking for a higher price. 

When someone bids four hundred, Lena doesn't catch who, she moves her hand firmly on the girl’s arm, keeping her from immediately responding to the next bid call. 

Kara blinks at her. 

“Wait,” Lena murmurs softly, keeping her hand in place. 

The auctioneer is up to four-fifty and a second call, when Lena removes her grip and nods. 

Kara’s arm goes up and after her bid is acknowledged, she looks to Lena for guidance. 

Lena smiles warmly and pats Kara’s arm again, feeling the young woman scoot discreetly closer. 

The price climbs to eight hundred and Kara is bidding confidently with Lena’s help in restraint. Keeping one eye on the now more sedate blonde, who accepts the call for nine hundred, Lena begins to scan the crowd, looking for their competitors. 

“Do I hear one thousand?”

Lena narrows her eyes as she realizes the man in the second row has been bidding against them for a while now. 

_Morgan Edge._ What interest would he have in an old microscope?

None, likely. And he’s too far away to have heard Kara’s explanation on what she was bidding for and why… which means he’s only putting his hat in the ring to compete with someone he associates with Lena Luthor.

_What an ass._

He meets her gaze across the room and smirks with one side of his mouth, taunting her wordlessly, raising his paddle to bring the price to one thousand. 

Lena gives him a droll stare, raising an eyebrow.

Kara begins to sweat at the cost and her swallow is audible. Lena can see her eyes flicking around the hall, making mental calculations as to where she and her sister might be able to dig up additional money. 

She's quickly reaching the extent of her available funds.

Lena waits until the second call, determined to stare Morgan into defeat.

The man’s smirk fades and he clenches his jaw, making his ears shift subtly.

He looks away.

Lena lifts her hand to signal Kara to make her bid. 

Kara’s heart sinks as she knows she's about to lose the microscope, but she raises the paddle in the air in one final attempt. 

“Eleven hundred, yes ma’am. Let's see twelve hundred, do we have twelve? Eleven going once, I've got eleven going twice. Last call, do I hear twelve hundred? Sold! Eleven hundred to the young lady in the back.”

He slams the gavel down, marking the hammer price, closing the bids.

Kara throws her arms around Lena and squeals into her ear. “We did it!”

Lena is a little surprised to find that she's returning the embrace. She's not practiced at it; hugs, especially enthusiastic ones like the one she's receiving right now, are generally foreign to her. She can only smile at the girl’s excitement and there's a ripple of soft laughter from the men around them, indicating they can't help themselves, either.

“Do we go get it now?” Kara whispers, pulling away slightly, one arm still braced against Lena’s back.

“If there's nothing else you'd like to bid on, then yes, we can go collect your sale.”

Kara’s eyes grow wide and she shakes her head. “Oh no, this is it for me. Just the microscope.”

Lena chuckles and gets to her feet, leading Kara to the designated section for settling payment, packaging sales, and arranging transportation.

Kara gives the clerk the microscope’s lot number and completes the bid acknowledgement paperwork.

“Anything for you, ma’am?” the clerk asks, as another staff member carefully fits the microscope in its case which is then packaged into a well-padded cardboard box.

Lena shakes her head. “No, thank you.”

Kara gasps. “You didn't bid on anything! Are you missing the item you wanted? I'm so sorry, I didn't even ask if you were done!”

“It's okay, really.” She pulls her shoulders back a little as she senses someone else approaching. 

“Lena,” Morgan says, with just enough fake politeness to avoid a full sneer, standing uncomfortably close.

Kara picks up her purchase, cradling it gently, glancing between Morgan and Lena with concern.

Morgan shifts his weight forward. “Always a pleasure.”

Lena’s smile doesn't reach her eyes. “Wish I could say the same,” she replies, resting her hand on Kara’s shoulder to guide her away from the creep.

“Thank you so much for all your help,” Kara says, as they near the exit.

Lena realizes they're about to part ways. She scarcely acknowledges the surge of panic that causes, at how utterly unprepared she is to never see the blonde again. 

“Are you hungry?”

Kara hefts the box in one hand and adjusts her glasses with the other. “Um, always?”

Lena smiles. “Would you like to get some lunch? My treat. We can celebrate your first successful auction.”

Kara beams. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” Lena pulls her phone from her purse. “Let me text my driver and call my assistant to let her know. Think about where you want to go, okay? Anywhere you'd like.”

Lena sends off a quick message, requesting Martin to pick her up earlier than anticipated, and then dials the office.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Luthor,” Jess answers.

“Hello, Jess. I'm finished at the auction and I'm heading to lunch. I should be back in the office by two-thirty.”

“You're finished early. Did you find what you were looking for?”

Lena glances at her companion, the blonde trailing her fingers across the box that holds the precious gift.

She smiles. “Yes, I think I did.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've got two multi-chapter fics in the works right now, plus another Scout installment, that should be done in a few weeks.
> 
> Come find me on [tumblr](http://y02mustang.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
